Outrage at £100 council tax bill rise for millions
ANNUAL council tax bills are set to surge by more than £100 for millions of middle-income households next year, the Government announced yesterday.
Ministers gave town halls the go-ahead for an inflation-busting three per cent hike in the local levy from next April. Many local authorities will also be able to add an additional two per cent to raise more cash for overstretched social care services.
This means that combined with a £24 average increase on the contribution to policing costs, the annual bill for an average “band D” property in England will rise by around £107.
Last night low tax campaigners were furious about the hikes.
TaxPayers’ Alliance chief executive John O’Connell said: “Councils always claim they are cut to the bone but our research shows there are still numerous examples of wasteful spending that need to be addressed. Councillors should remember that council tax is a
major burden on residents and a huge contributor to the cost of living, especially for families on lower incomes.”
Christine Melsom, of the anti-council tax campaign group IsItFair?, said: “I am disgusted with this rise. Council tax is becoming unaffordable. People on low and fixed incomes including many pensioners are finding council tax rises every year incredibly hard to bear.”
Communities Secretary James Brokenshire announced next year’s funding settlement for local authorities in a statement to MPs yesterday.
He said councils will share £1.3billion more from Whitehall, which would allow a real-terms increase in spending power for town halls from £45.1billion now to £46.4billion in 2019-’20.
“I’m delivering a settlement that paves the way for a fairer, more selfsufficient and resilient future for local government and a brighter future for the people they serve,” he said.
“This delivers a real-terms increase in spending for local authorities and gives them more control over the money they raise too, while protecting residents against excessive council tax rises.”
Lord Porter, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “Next year will continue to be hugely challenging for councils, who still face an overall funding gap of £3.2billion in 2019-’20.”
Labour’s shadow communities secretary Andrew Gwynne said it would mean “an inflation-busting increase in council tax and no end in sight for austerity”.